Iron stabilizer and cord support

ABSTRACT

The invention discloses a stabilizing and cord support means in a single structure wherein outrigger-type arm means is attached to the iron to extend sideways from the iron. The outrigger is equipped with rearward extending ears at the ends of the arm whereby the ears are additional supports for the iron in the heel rest position. The dimension of the ears is such that a cord may be wrapped around the arm while it acts as a stabilizing means with no interference by the cord when the iron is in rest position.

United States Patent Inventors William E. Davidson Ontario; Harold S. Foster. Ontario; Llewellyn Delano Busby, Upland. all of Calif.

App1.No. 874,582 Filed Nov. 6, 1969 Patented July 20, 1971 Assignee General Electric Company IRON STABILIZER AND CORD SUPPORT 8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

0.8. CI 38/79 Int. Cl D06t' 75/40 Field of Search 38/96, 79,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Des.98.18l 1/1936 Patten 38/79 X 2,164,287 6/1939 Beyar 38/79 X 2,624,136 1/1953 Wilson 38/79 Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson A!t0rneys-Lawrence R. Kempton, Leonard J. Platt, John F.

Cullen, Frank L. Neuhauser, Oscar B. Waddell and Joseph B. Forman ABSTRACT: The invention discloses a stabilizing and cord support means in a single structure wherein outrigger-type arm means is attached to the iron to extend sideways from the iron. The outrigger is equipped with rearward extending ears at the ends of the arm whereby the ears are additional supports for the iron in the heel rest position. The dimension of the ears is such that a cord may be wrapped around the arm while it acts as a stabilizing means with no interference by the cord when the iron is in rest position.

PATVENTEUJULZOIBH Y 3,593,442

E- v H :a s. oer, L. elano Busbg b Attorneu IRON STABILIZER AND coup SUPPORT I BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l.Field1of the Invention v The invention herein pertains to an improvement in stabilizing rest structure for an electric flatiron which structure is formedto provide additional stabilizing of the iron against tipping in theheel rest position'and the same structure also providesa cord support or storage means on the iron with no interference to the iron when .it is in heel rest position using the stabilizer means as anadditional support.

2. Description of the Prior Art! Most of the electric flatirons used for general ironing puririthe home are designedfor upendingthe iron rearwardly'when not in use. Generally, this heel rest position has comprised a three-point supportwhereby the top rear end of the handle and two outside rear points of the iron form a triangular support. The handle is generally cut short so that, in the upended or. heelrest position, the iron tends to lean backward to overcome the turning moment of the soleplate. Because of the massive nature of the lower portions of the iron below the I handle, it will beapparent that the iron maybe rathe'reasily tipped sideways by a slight bumpingsuch as by movement around an ironing board Various stabilizing structures have.

been employed to provide a wider support and prevent accidental tipping ofthe iron. These have included additional brackets-connected tothe iron cover or higheron thehandle ito providewidersupportpoints' or legs and the. wider the points are spaced, of course, the-moresupport for the iron. ,A compromise must beselected between the maximum support tional supports to avoid becoming unwieldy or interfering with operation or packaging ,of the iron. In order to get-as wide a stabilizing effect as possible, moveabl'ey legs have been proposed that archinged and retract into the envelope of the ironwhenv not in use. All of thesestabilizers work satisfactorily and are of various complexities depending on thestabilization desired and whether retractable members are used or a single,

interference with the arm meanswhen it acts as a stabilizer in the heel rest position. Thus, the main'object is to provide'a stabilizing support structure that adds stability tothe iron against tipping in the heel rest position and the same structure is also used as a cord storage or support with no interference in the heel rest position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE- DRAWINGS similar view showing a modified stabilizshown in FIGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRE D EMBODIMENT i Referring first toFlG. I there shown an electric flatiron 10 withthe'usual connected cord '12 that may come out of the top of handle .14 as shown or may be connected in any other suitable well-known'manner.- The handle has the usual controls generally indicated at 16 at its forward end, and the iron is equipped with the usual cover 18 over soleplate 20 with the 7 cover extending backbeyond the soleplate as shown. In such or stabilizing effect desired and the distance between the addithe handleof the iron and the whole'device stored. The cord bunches upon the rear portion of the handle and. interferes with theupended resting positionfon the heel rest. This causesv no great problem if theiron is coolbut interferes with the heel rest stability and'presents an undesirable situation with a hot iron. g I

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Briefly described, the present, invention is directed to an electric flatiron that has aconnected cord and acover over I the iron soleplate with a handle attached tothe iron..Th'e rear I portion is designed, with the cover, tosupport the iron in an upright three-point heel rest position when it is not in use. To

7 this conventional structure, an improvement in stabilizing rest I structure is provided that comprisesa fixed outrigger-type arm meanswhich may .be integral and which extends sideways vide additional stability.

preferably .equal distances from theiron out .beyond the usual heel support points at the'rear of the iron. Thearm meansis provided with an car at each end that is sizedto direct rear! wardlyadistance greater than the thickness or diameter of the cord and which terminates ina surface that lies substantially in the plane of thesupport points .toprovide at least two addiu that, with the rear portion of cover 18, the iron is supported in an upright, three-point heel rest position with support points A, B and C, as shown in FIG. 4 supporting the iron in the position of FlG l. Generally, the back of the handle is cut off so that the iron restsin an over-tilted position to provide a more stabilized support. I I

Because of the three-point A, B, C triangularsupport arrangement generally'used, it will be apparent that the iron can betiltedabout any of the lines A-B or A-C or B-C with tilting occurring most frequently along the more unstable firsttwo lines during movements aboutthe ironing board-when the iron is turnediup to its heel rest position. Of course, point A may be a rather .broadlsurface depending onthe design of the handle but stilla substantiallythree-point triangular support is provided. The center of this triangular support, as shown in FIG. 4, is the center of gravity G of the triangle which may 'closely approximate the geometricalvertical center of the iron. It will be seen that overturning is resisted by a moment arm between G anda line joining A-Bon one side and a similar one joining A-C on the other side thus indicating relative instability from overturning sideways from the position shown'in FIG. 1. Extension of the line from G to A-B or A-C increases the Support. To thisendand keeping within the aesthetic and packaging requirements of the iron, the lines are effectively extended to points F and D to provide direction. This general concept has been used before to proln accordance with the invention,"the improved stabilizingrest structure-may take any suitable form which generally includes an outrigger-type arm means-21, asyshown in FIGS. 2 and4, andwhichpreferably takes the form of a fixed arm means that is-attached-to and extends equidistantly sideways tionalwider spaced supports. The. longitudinal center of the arm maypass substantially throughthe center of gravity of the triangle formed by the usualthree-point support. The distance of the cars from the cover is at leasttwo cordthicknesses.

Wherebythe stabilizing structure andtwo additional supports all fall substantially. on a common ellipse with the usual three 1 a supportsand the samestabilizing structure then actsas a cord.

I storage, or support means for wrapping the cord around. the

iron so that the cord is disposed within the support to cause no from theiron beyondthe heel support points B andC at the a rear of cover 18 as shown. While the preferable integral arm structure is desired, equivalent forms such as the gull-form of ear 22 attached :to the cover as partially shown in FIG. 3 may also be used. In any case,-certain parameters are required.

In order to provide astabilizing means that does not extend beyond the envelope of the iron'for packaging purposes as wellas not-interfering with the user because'of long'projections, it is desirable tha'tthe ends of thearms, forming the two a partial cross-sectional view on the line 55 of greater stability in the lateral additional supports F and D, fall between the maximum soleplate width and beyond the distance between the heel rest support points B and C. This also places each of the five-point supports of FIG. 4 substantially peripherally equidistant on a very stable common ellipse B through all the supports for good stability against sideways tipping. This stable support is especially enhanced when the longitudinal center line of the arm passes substantially through the center of gravity G of the triangle formed by the three point A, B & C support.

In order to use the ends of the arms as additional support points and for use of the same stabilizing structure as a cord support, each end of the arm is provided with an ear 23 that extends rearwardly a distance that is greater than the cord thickness and each ear may terminate in a surface 24 that is equivalent to a point support but is more stable and that is canted to lie substantially in the plane of the support points A, B and C when the iron is in the upright position shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the five-point support A, B, C, D and F is provided with the support points substantially on the stable ellipse base E as shown in FIG. 4.

For use of the stabilizing structure as a cord support, cars 23 are made long enough to reach the support surface and to accommodate a wound cord as shown in FIG. 1 and still leave the supporting surface 25 free of interference from a bunched cord and therefore free for stabilizing. In other words, the wound cord easily flows for winding alternately as shown in FIG. 1 and the stabilizing means with cars 22 or 23 keeps the cord in a recessed position so the cord does not interfere with the heel rest position of the iron. In order to keep the cord off of the hot cover 10, the ears are disposed at least two cord thicknesses from the cover so that a fully wound cord, as shown in FIG. 1, is separated from the cover. Generally, an iron cord of 6 to 8 feet will result in two loops around each arm as shown and the well-known plug clip not shown may attach the end to the cord for convenient on-the-iron storage.

The particular arm stabilizing means may take any suitable form, a convenient form as shown in FIG. 5, comprising two parts wherein rear cover 26 is connected to the handle by conventional screw means 28 and the stabilizing structure may be a separate hollow member 30 riveted to cover 26. A separate snap-in piece 32 may carry information indicia. Alternately, an integral arm construction may be used as shown in FIG. 6.

Thus, the single stabilizing structure of the present invention performs a dual function of stabilizing and storing of the cord in a natural convenient arrangement which, by providing dimensioned cars 22 or 23 permits cord storage on the same structure without any interference with the heel rest storage. The outrigger-type arrangement acting as a target for winding the cord inherently tends to keep the hand away from the hot iron. This results in a convenient, attractive, and useful dual purpose device for additional stability in the normally weak directions and the same means is used for cord storage directly on the iron without interfering with the heel rest function.

While there has been described a preferred form of the invention, obvious equivalent variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced, otherwise then as specifically described, and the claims are intended to cover such equivalent variations.

We claim:

I. In an electric flatiron having a connected cord and a cover over the soleplate with a handle attached to the iron and having a rear portion designed with the cover to support the iron in an upright substantially three-point heel rest position when not in use, the improvement in stabilizing rest structure comprising,

an outrigger-type arm means attached to and extending sideways from said iron and beyond the heel support points at the rear thereof,

said arm means having an ear at each end directed rearwardly a distance greater than the cord thickness and terminating in a surface lying substantially in the plane of the support points to provideat least two additional supports,

whereby said arm means is a stabilizer and a cord support on said iron with no interference in the heel rest position.

2. Apparatus as described in claim I wherein said ears on said arms are disposed at least two cord thicknesses from said cover to maintain a fully wound cord separated from said cover.

3. Apparatus as described in claim I wherein the distance between said ear support surfaces is greater than that between the heel support points and less than the maximum soleplate width.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein the threepoint heel supports and ear supports all fall substantially on a common ellipse through the supports.

5. In an electric flatiron having a connected cord and a cover over the soleplate with a handle attached to the iron and having a rear portion designed with the cover to support the iron in an upright three-point heel rest position when not in use, the improvement in stabilizing rest structure comprising,

an integral horizontal arm means attached to and extending sideways equal distances from said iron and beyond the heel support points at the rear thereof,

the longitudinal center of said arm passing substantially through the center of gravity of the triangle formed by the three-point support,

said arm having an ear at each end directed rearwardly a distance greater than the cord thickness and terminating in a surface lying substantially in the plane of the support points to provide at least two additional supports, whereby said arm means is a stabilizer and a cord support on said iron with no interference in the heel rest position.

6. Apparatus as described in claim 5 wherein said ears on said arms are disposed at least two cord thicknesses from said cover to maintain a fully wound cord separated from said cover.

7. Apparatus as described in claim 6 wherein the distance between said ear support surfaces is greater than that between the heel support points and less than the maximum soleplate width.

8. Apparatus as described in claim 7 wherein the threepoint heel supports and ear supports all fall substantially equally spaced around the periphery of a common ellipse through the supports. 

1. In an electric flatiron having a connected cord and a cover over the soleplate with a handle attached to the iron and having a rear portion designed with the cover to support the iron in an upright substantially three-point heel rest position when not in use, the improvement in stabilizing rest structure comprising, an outrigger-type arm means attached to and extending sideways from said iron and beyond the heel support points at the rear thereof, said arm means having an ear at each end directed rearwardly a distance greater than the cord thickness and terminating in a surface lying substantially in the plane of the support points to provide at least two additional supports, whereby said arm means is a stabilizer and a cord support on said iron with no interference in the heel rest position.
 2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said ears on said arms are disposed at least two cord thicknesses from said cover to maintain a fully wound cord separated from said cover.
 3. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the distance between said ear support surfaces is greater than that between the heel support points and less than the maximum soleplate width.
 4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein the three-point heel supports and ear supports all fall substantially on a common ellipse through the supports.
 5. In an electric flatiron having a connected cord and a cover over the soleplate with a handle attached to the iron and having a rear portion designed with the cover to support the iron in an upright three-point heel rest position when not in use, the improvement in stabilizing rest structure comprising, an integral horizontal arm means attached to and extending sideways equal distances from said iron and beyond the heel support points at the rear thereof, the longitudinal center of said arm passing substantially through the center of gravity of the triangle formed by the three-point support, said arm having an ear at each end directed rearwardly a distance greater than the cord thickness and terminating in a surface lying substantially in the plane of the support points to provide at least two additional supports, whereby said arm means is a stabilizer and a cord support on said iron with no interference in the heel rest position.
 6. Apparatus as described in claim 5 wherein said ears on said arms are disposed at least two cord thicknesses from said cover to maintain a fully wound cord separated from said cover.
 7. Apparatus as described in claim 6 wherein the distance between said ear support surfaces is greater than that between the heel support points and less than the maximum soleplate width.
 8. Apparatus as described in claim 7 wherein the three-point heel supports and ear supports all fall substantially equally spaced around the periphery of a common ellipse through the supports. 